“Ziel… Ziel…”

When Ziel was deep in thought after seeing the middle-aged man and woman, Princess Cordelia and Princess Irene kept calling his name out of concern that he suddenly fell silent. But no matter how many times they called him, Ziel still didn’t respond to them.

(Why do people with gray hair come to this town?)

Ziel thought and continued to watch the two people. But when he blinked his eyes for a second, they had already disappeared from his sight.

“Where do they go?” Ziel narrowed his eyes and released his senses to the max to search for the whereabouts of the two people. But no matter how much he searched, Ziel still couldn’t find them.

“Ziel… Ziel… are you alright?” Princess Cordelia asked worriedly.

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry. I just saw someone familiar, and they suddenly disappeared.” Ziel shook his head and looked back at where he saw the two people.

“Your acquaintance? We didn’t see anyone there. Don’t you see it wrong?” Princess Irene turned her eyes to where Ziel was looking, but he didn’t find anyone in that place.

“You don’t have to look for them since they’re gone. So can you take me now to the first construction site of the city guardian battle platform?” Ziel smiled and tried not to dwell on the matter for now.

Even so, he couldn’t do it because he felt something was wrong with them. He thought the appearance of the two gray-haired people in that place was not coincidental. Yesterday he came to their village and found a strange rain of particles in the middle of the night and now they have suddenly appeared here. It felt strange and made him uncomfortable.

(Is it just my feeling? No. That’s impossible. I believe they are real. If they can appear and go as they please without being detected by me, then their strength is at least above mine and is in the same class as the guardian of the continent. Besides, what is this feeling? Why do I feel familiar with them?)

Ziel kept racking his brains and thinking about those two people. He was sure the middle-aged man and woman were real, but they suddenly disappeared as if they had never existed in this world.

“Alright! We will take you there immediately!” Princess Cordelia said excitedly. Her former heroic appearance no longer existed when she was with Ziel.

Not long after they walked, Ziel saw dozens of dwarves and humans gathered to make the first construction for the city guardian battle platform. The dwarves were from the Dwarven Kingdom, while the humans were from the Cirlus Kingdom.

“Could you take me to another construction site?” Ziel had already finished looking at the preliminary construction of the city guardian battle platform at that place, and he felt there was no problem with the work of the Dwarves and the people of the Cirlus kingdom. Originally he intended to help them speed up the creation of the artifact. But after he came to the place and saw how they worked, he felt there was no need to intervene.

“Of course! This way, please!” Princess Irene replied. For some reason, she didn’t want to lose to Princess Cordelia.

Ziel couldn’t help but smile at the enthusiasm of the two girls. But before he set foot to go to another construction site, his smile grew wider after realizing something.

***

After Ziel and the two princesses left, Kalya and the girls at the cottage did their regular practice. But their training time today was short because the girls intended to fish together in the lake, and their catch would be used for the barbecue tonight.

Ziel created the lake into two parts. Half of it is freshwater; the rest is connected to the sea using space magic. So the girls can catch various kinds of fish and sea animals without going to the ocean.

“Clara, how many fish have you caught?” Princess Iris asked. She was wearing a fishing outfit and sitting by the lake not far from Clara.

“Not many. I only got two.” Clara replied with a frown.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if we used magic to catch those fish?” Kyouka sat between the two girls and asked.

“If it’s too easy, it won’t be fun. What’s more, we can get quality time as a family if we fish together like this. Isn’t that right, Queen Helena?” Kalya answered and suddenly threw a question to Queen Helena, who was fishing not far from her.

“Hmm? Ah! Yes, you are right! This way, we can strengthen our bonds as a family.” Queen Helena replied in a panic. She did not expect that Kalya would suddenly bring her into the conversation.

(What is the meaning of that question? Did she already know what happened between Ziel and me at the lakeside? But why didn’t she look angry and instead tease me?)

Queen Helena’s face turned red when she thought of that possibility, and she lowered her head so Kalya and the girls wouldn’t see it. She didn’t even notice that the fish had eaten her bait. Kalya chuckled when she saw Queen Helena’s funny reaction.

“Then, how about we hold a competition?” Princess Freya suddenly gave them an idea to make their fishing event more exciting.

“That is a good idea! Then what is the prize for the winner!?” Princess Aishia was intrigued by Princess Freya’s words. But she didn’t want to do that without getting anything.

“Hmm… in your opinion, what is the best prize for the winner of this competition?” Princess Freya thought while touching her lips. She didn’t have time to think of a suitable gift for the girls because she said the idea so spontaneously.

“The winner will have the right to make one wish to Ziel.” Lilith said and silenced the girls.

“I will win this competition!” Princess Freya said with full fighting intent. Then he took two fishing rods and threw the bait into the middle of the lake at once. The girls’ rivalry was ignited because they also did not want to lose in the competition. Kyouka and Princess Iris even used three fishing rods.

(If I win, can’t I also make a wish to Ziel?)

Queen Helena secretly thought in her heart and decided to participate in the fishing competition. Then she looked at her daughter.

(I’m sorry, Freya. But this mother of yours also loves him. So we will compete in this competition)

Queen Helena released a fighting intent no less than Princess Freya. Kalya smiled warmly at the situation. Even though she also wanted to win, she wasn’t as enthusiastic as the girls because she could ask Ziel anything without being the winner of the competition.

Kalya put the bait on the hook and intended to throw it back into the middle of the lake. But she suddenly stopped after seeing a beautiful white-haired woman walk up to them. Clara and the other girls weren’t surprised when they saw the woman because they knew her.

But Queen Helena, who had never met her, was confused and amazed when she saw the woman’s face. She is very confident in her beauty and body shape. Queen Helena even dared to compete with Kalya and the girls in the cottage. But when faced with that woman, she felt inferior. Queen Helena admitted that she lost to the woman in terms of beauty and body shape.

“Who’s she?” Queen Helena whispered to Kalya. She was curious about the identity of the woman.

“She is one of our family.” Kalya looks at Queen Helena and smiles.

Queen Helena quickly realized the meaning of Kalya’s words, and her face turned red like a tomato. After hearing those words, she was sure that Kalya already knew what had happened between her and Ziel. But then she was shocked after recalling Kalya’s words.

“Part of the family? Does that mean she and Ziel are…” Queen Helena said in disbelief.

“Yes. They are a couple. Just like the girls in this place as well as you.” Kalya teases Queen Helena and gives a wink to her.

“You…” Queen Helena felt very embarrassed after hearing Kalya’s words. Then she refocused on her fishing rod to cover her embarrassment. Kalya smiled slightly when she saw Queen Helena’s behavior. Then Kalya glanced to the side after hearing the sound of footsteps approaching her. The white-haired woman sat next to Kalya and asked.

“Where’s Ken?” The woman asked. Her hair fluttered in the wind, and the sight looked fantastic. Queen Helena stealthily stole glances at him and was mesmerized when she saw it. That white-haired beauty was the Princess of the divine race, Azalia.

“He’s been out for a while. Do you need anything from him, Azalia?” Kalya asked back. She no longer harbored any enmity towards Azalia since the other party was also a member of their family. Kalya had also explained it to the girls, and they accepted her happily.

“Yes. That’s one of my reasons for coming here. But my main goal is to meet him since he hasn’t visited me in a long time.” Azalia said with a sullen face.

“It’s only been a few days without seeing him, and you already miss him that much?” Kalya laughed and teased Azalia.

“You won’t be able to understand my feelings because you can see him daily.” Azalia snorted and was a little annoyed by Kalya’s words.

“Okay. I was wrong. I’m sorry. Then why don’t you move here and live with us? We still have plenty of room in this cottage.” Kalya quickly apologized to Azalia after feeling her mood change slightly. She felt her other purpose for coming here to meet Ziel was important.

“That is… I have to take care of matters regarding my race first. After I manage to take them to another world, I will stay here with you.” Azalia said in a low voice. Kalya could feel the huge burden carried by the beautiful woman beside her.

“If you need help, don’t hesitate to tell us. Even though we are weaker than you, we will try our best to reduce your burden. After all, We are family, and your problem is our problem.” Kalya put down her fishing rod and held Azalia’s hand. She said sincerely and gently.

“Stop saying sentimental words like that.” Azalia felt her heart warm and her eyes wet after hearing Kalya’s words. She turned her face away from Kalya as she didn’t want the other party to see her weak side.

“Then, what are you doing in this place?” Azalia tried to change the topic of their conversation.

“We are doing a fishing competition.” Kalya realized that Azalia did not want to discuss the matter. Therefore, she did not ask any further.

“Fishing competition? What for?” Azalia asked in confusion. She didn’t understand why Kalya and the girls were doing such a useless thing. Even though she had lived on the Clorius continent for hundreds of years, she still couldn’t understand the thoughts of the natives.

“First, to strengthen our bond as a family. Second, we will use the fish we caught for tonight’s barbecue. The last and most important thing is that the winner can make one wish to Ziel.” Kalya explained with a big smile on her face.

Azalia was acting normal when she heard the first two reasons. But when she heard the last one, her face changed. Kalya was secretly laughing when she saw that Azalia was interested in it.

“Can I take part in this competition?” Azalia asked shyly.

“Of course, you are part of our family. But you are not allowed to use your powers.” Kalya smiled and gave Azalia one of her fishing rods. Azalia smiled sweetly and accepted it.

“I understand. By the way, who is that woman? Why do I feel like I’ve never seen her before?” Azalia glanced at Queen Helena; coincidentally, the other party was also looking at her. The two smiled awkwardly and nodded at each other.

“She is Freya’s mother and will become part of our family.” Kalya whispered. She didn’t want her voice to be heard by the girls, especially Princess Freya. For now, she didn’t let the girls know about it.

“Is that so?” Azalia nodded and didn’t seem interested in her. Then she threw the bait. But just as she focused on fishing, Azalia suddenly frowned when she saw a pair of middle-aged men and women across the lake.

“Who are they?” Azalia asked. Kalya looked in the direction Azalia pointed. When she saw the two people, the entire forest area in the academy was suddenly covered by a barrier.

“What!?”

“What has happened!?”

Clara and the girls quickly noticed a barrier suddenly appeared and locked them in. After that, the sky above the cottage turned dark, and gray particles rained down on the area.

“That is…” Queen Helena looked at the scene in shock.